🔄 What Is Exchange Autodiscover?

Autodiscover is a service provided by Microsoft Exchange that allows email clients like Mailbird Next to automatically detect and configure your email server settings using just your email address.

⚠️ Note: This article applies to on-premise Exchange servers only. If you use Microsoft 365 (Office 365), Mailbird Next handles configuration automatically via OAuth 2.0 — see our Microsoft 365 OAuth 2.0 guide instead.

⚠️ Error References

If you see Error #32 or Error #33 in Mailbird Next when adding an Exchange account, it usually means the Autodiscover service could not be reached or returned an unexpected response.

🔍 Verify That Autodiscover Is Running

Using PowerShell (Recommended for Admins)

On your Exchange server, run:

Test-OutlookWebServices -Identity: user@example.com -MailboxCredential (Get-Credential)

• Replace user@example.com with a valid mailbox address.
• All results should display Success.
• Any failure indicates a misconfiguration on the Exchange server.

See Microsoft’s official documentation on Test-OutlookWebServices.

Using Outlook

1. Hold CTRL and right-click the Outlook icon in your system tray.
2. Click Test Email AutoConfiguration…
3. Enter valid email credentials, ensure only "Use Autodiscover" is checked, and click Test.
4. Go to the Log tab and look for: "Autodiscover to [...] Succeeded"

If this line is missing, the Autodiscover service is likely misconfigured.

🌐 Verify DNS Configuration

Your domain’s DNS must include an SRV record for Autodiscover:

• Type: SRV
• Name: _autodiscover._tcp.yourdomain.com
• Value: 0 0 443 autodiscover.yourdomain.com

⚠️ DNS changes may take several hours to propagate. Allow enough time before retesting.

🛠️ Manual Configuration (If Autodiscover Is Unavailable)

If Autodiscover cannot be enabled or exposed publicly, you can manually configure your Exchange account using the Exchange Web Services (EWS) URL:

https://mail.yourdomain.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx

To enter this manually:

1. Add your account in Mailbird Next as usual.
2. When you reach the settings screen, click Edit server settings.
3. Enter the correct EWS URL in the Server URL field.

⚠️ URLs ending in /Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync, /OWA, or /EAS are not supported.

💬 Need More Help?

If you’re still having trouble with Exchange Autodiscover, please contact our Customer Happiness Team. We’ll be happy to help.